LINKOPING, Sweden, Nov. 11, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Saab has today been forced to give notice to the County Employment Boards in Jonkoping and Gothenburg of personnel reductions in the Saab Avitronics business unit. In Jonkoping 45 co-workers will be affected in production and production support, and in Gothenburg 14 co-workers, the majority in product development and a few in production.
"It is of course very regrettable to have to reduce the workforce in Jonkoping and Gothenburg. The primary reasons are fewer orders from the Swedish Armed Forces, as well as technology shifts and streamlining in production," says Ronny Nyqvist, head of Utility and Mission Systems at Saab Avitronics.
"At the same time, it is very pleasing to note that in the past year we have made inroads with new products for two of the world's biggest aircraft producers, Airbus and Boeing."
Product development in Jonkoping means that older technology is being phased out and replaced with modern, modular electronic systems with a higher software content, which require less manual input in production. Jonkoping is also ceasing production of mechanical gyros in favor of fiber optic gyros that are less labor-demanding.
In Gothenburg the cutbacks are being made in Saab's laser operations in the Gamlestaden district of the city.
The union organizations have been informed of the situation, and negotiations will begin in the near future.
Saab is one of the world's leading high-technology companies, with its main operations focusing on defense, aviation and space. The Group covers a broad spectrum of competence and capability in systems integration.
For further information, please contact: Ronny Nyqvist, head of product area Utility and Mission Systems, Tel +46 (0)73-418 82 23 Anna Bergenlid, Head of Communications, Saab Avitronics, Tel +46 (0)73-437 53 06
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